In 2021, it's estimated that an increasing population of Canadians are senior citizens, with more than 6 million people aged 65 and above. This reflects an increasing demand for long-term care facilities like nursing homes and assisted living facilities that provide specialized services that cater to the unique needs of aging individuals. These facilities offer assistance with activities of daily living, medication management, therapy, and social engagement.
In this Caring Support Podcast episode, we are honoured to have Carline Cadet Francois as our guest, an owner of an assisted living facility who transitioned from law enforcement to providing services catered to independent living. Carline brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having worked extensively in the assisted living industry.
Here are the key points that she has discussed with our hosts:
Carline Cadet Francois is a self-made individual who, according to her, strived hard to become who she is today, even when she came from a life of poverty. She graduated with a Criminal Justice degree and moved up the ranks to eventually become a Sergeant.
Today, she manages her own assisted living facility and offers different services like courses, a coaching program, and books regarding opening and managing an assisted living facility. She also manages a Facebook community that teaches everything about handling an assisted living facility.
According to her, even though she loved serving through her job, she wanted to have more time for her kids, so she wanted to retire early. This is the reason she transitioned from law enforcement to operating her assisted living facility, in addition to being a real estate investor. She says that owning and managing an assisted living facility is a good investment for the community especially with the shortages and the need for more assisted living communities.
For Carline, the success of an assisted living facility is hugely dependent on having qualified and compassionate staff. She believes that no one will want to stay in a place with a grumpy staff. In finding the staff that best aligns with the values of her assisted living facility, Carline believes that what works for her the best is making connections with qualified people within her church.
According to her, "I find when you connect people from the church into the workplace, you get the kind of value that experience alone cannot get you because you're finding a good person that will fit the type of care that you want to provide the type of policy and environment that you want to have at your facility."
She also believes that funding people well and treating them right will motivate them to help your facility succeed and make the residents of the senior housing feel safe.
With this, the hosts also added that the Caring Support platform is another good avenue to create these connections and find qualified providers of senior care like registered nurses who will do it with compassion and within safety standards.
According to Carline, assisted living facilities are licensed under the same umbrella and would be doing almost the same things, from the amenities to the personal care and to recreational activities offered. However, there are some specific differences in terms of the level of care and the provision of these services depending on the size of the assisted living facility.
For Carline, the main differences between a bigger and smaller setting type of assisted living facilities are their focus, and it's important for the family to assess the needed help that their elderly loved one would be receiving. The family should consider how their elderly act on a daily basis in the level of care that they need.
When asked about how families can transition better from taking care of patients at home to bringing them to an assisted living facility, Carline weighs on it as a hard but necessary conversation; that is, "Even though you made promises to take care of your loved ones, sometimes we just can't live up to those promises. And finding the right assisted living for your loved one is help for you and for them." She also has these tips for this transition:
When it comes to that time when you need assisted living and before deep dementia sets in, make sure you have the hard conversations: make sure you know who's going to be in charge. If you have those conversations with your loved one very early on because you're going to need those legal documents for assisted living, you have to have a plan on how things are going to be paid for so you'll be saved from a lot of stress.
According to Carline, she knows that it can be scary for families to bring their elderly loved ones to an institution for supportive living. However, it's important for these family members not to feel guilty and scared of the situation, especially because of the positive things that making this decision will bring to the family, especially in terms of their stress levels and health.
Carline mentioned about the overwhelming amounts of positive stories that families have upon bringing their elderly loved ones to assisted living facilities. "Some have said that they weren't able to vacation and now they're able to take trips to enjoy themselves, knowing that their loved one is at a good place that's going to care for them."
In this podcast episode, we have the privilege of learning from Carlene Cadet Francois, a distinguished expert in the field of assisted living. Through her insights, we gain a deeper understanding of how assisted living can significantly enhance an elderly person's quality of life.
From the importance of selecting the best staff to strategies for staff retention and tips for choosing the right facility, Carlene's expertise provides valuable guidance both for families who'll be needing the services and for prospective owners who are thinking of managing an assisted living facility.
At Caring Support, we can help prospective owners of an assisted living facility succeed in the industry by providing qualified staff that can make their resident's retirement living better through competent and compassionate care. We provide the means to better connect employers with these healthcare professionals and also provide added services that can ensure their reliability like a background check.
Sign up with us today to experience these benefits and see your supportive living services succeed with us.
We'll keep you updated on all new application updates and features!